THE OKEECHOBEE EXPEDITION. 225 



Halifax river, and the Mosquito South, or Hillsboro 

 river. Thirty miles each extends, meeting in a common 

 channel at the inlet. Close in is Massacre Bluff, with 

 its tragical history of the murder of shipwrecked sailors 

 by Indians, early in the Indian war. Two miles further 

 is Mount Pleasant, a high shell bluff, upon which is the 

 residence of Major Alden, a Massachusetts man, whose 

 hospitality many have shared. A mile further is Lowd s 

 Hotel, the only one here, and one of the three houses 

 constituting the town of New Smyrna. This place is 

 about thirty miles from the St. Johns, at Enterprise, the 

 road to which fully maintains the reputation of Florida 

 roads generally. Though to a stranger the hotel at 

 New Smyrna may present few attractions, being fronted 

 by a muddy creek and backed by a dense forest, it is 

 filled to overflowing every winter, the same boarders 

 forming its quota each succeeding season. The mystery 

 is partly explained when one has enjoyed its hospitali 

 ties. Probably the superb fishing of Mosquito Inlet has 

 much to do toward maintaining its popularity as a 

 winter resort. There is the usual variety of game found 

 on the Florida coast. The narrow peninsulas, both 

 north and south of the inlet, are well stocked with deer 

 and bear, and many panthers and wild-cats find refuge 

 there. The woods back of the hotel, between New 

 Smyrna and Enterprise, are tolerably well filled with 

 deer, though it is said the panthers have driven away 

 the turkeys. At the inlet are large flocks of curlew, 

 bay snipe, &quot;peep,&quot; shearwaters and plover, affording 

 excellent sport to the juvenile gunners at the hotel. 

 But by far the best section for procuring large game is 

 the immense Turnbull swamp, near the head of Indian 

 river, abounding in deer, turkeys, panther, and bear. 

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